A Hogwarts Fantasy Chapter 1
by 90singalong
Summary: Hope sets off for Hogwarts, and meets some friends along the way.


**.:A HOGWARTS FANTASY:.**

**PART I**

**Location: Hogwarts Express**

**-Hope-**

**The countryside whipped past the window, the green fields and blue lakes melding together in a blur. The sky overhead was clouding over, the sun being blotted out. Very soon, the first drops of rain would begin to fall. I sighed and leaned my head against the window, cross-legged on the compartment chair. There was no-one else in the compartment. Then again, I was right at the very end of the train. I would be on my own until later tonight, when the train finally reaches Hogwarts. When I get there and I'm sorted, maybe then I can make some friends.**

**There was a knock on the compartment door. I lifted my head and saw three people at the compartment door, two girls, one boy. The girls both had pink hair and blue eyes, while the boy was blonde with blue eyes. One of the girls opened the door. She had quite a stern face, and her hair was spiked on the right side, and the longer locks fell over her shoulder on the left.**

"**D'you not mind if we sit in here?" she asked. Her voice was slightly husky. "Everywhere else is full."**

"**Sure," I replied, looking back out the window. The girls and the boy dragged their trunks in and slid them into the luggage rack. The two girls sat next to each other across from me, while the boy plonked himself down next to me.**

"**Well, now that we're settled in," the boy laughed. "Let's introduce ourselves. I'm Snow, Snow Villiers." The boy held his hand out to me, and I took it. His hand was strong, and about twice the size of mine. I winced as he shook it a little rough, and I then let go.**

"**Hope. Hope Estheim," I murmured.**

"**I'm Serah Farron," the other pink haired girl smiled. Her hair was drawn into a side ponytail, and she looked a little like the other girl, so I guessed that they were sisters.**

"**Lightning," the other girl mumbled, before turning to look out the window. Serah sighed, then started chatting away to Snow. I sat back and closed my eyes, trying to block out their conversation. I was just starting to drift off when Snow tapped my arm.**

"**Hm?" I asked, waking up a little.**

"**What year are you in?" Serah asked.**

"**First."**

"**Same as us," Snow laughed. "What house d'you think you'll be sorted into?"**

"**Dunno," I replied. I honestly hadn't given it any thought. I'll most likely end up in Hufflepuff…**

"**I wanna get into Gryffindor," Snow grinned.**

"**The Hero's House," Lightning smiled.**

"**Yep," Snow laughed.**

"**I think I'll go in Ravenclaw," Serah said, smiling sweetly.**

"**Most likely, given how big a swot you are," Lightning taunted. Serah glared at her sister. The compartment fell silent, and I leaned back again, already lost in my own small world.**

"**We should be getting close to Hogwarts," Lightning said, looking out of the window. She had to kind of squint, as the rain and the dark made it hard to see. It had started raining about an hour ago, and the night had finally arrived not long after.**

"**We need to be getting changed then," Snow yawned, stretching. We were all still sat in our muggle clothes. We needed to change into our uniform. "We'll wait outside while you two change, and vice versa." Snow stood up and left the compartment, me following behind. We waited a couple of minutes before the girls stepped out, now dressed in their Hogwarts uniform. Me and Snow walked back in and fished our uniforms from our trunks, and quickly changed; stuffing our muggle clothes back into our trunks. The girls came back in once we'd changed.**

**I started feeling nervous as the train started to slow down. What if I got sorted into Slytherin? What if I made no friends?**

**The others didn't seem so nervous. Snow was sat grinning away, Serah was almost bouncing in her seat from excitement, and Lightning seemed indifferent. The train finally stopped with a bump, and we got up. I didn't know whether we had to leave out luggage or not, but the others were, so I did as well. Out in the corridors, everyone was pushing and shoving, trying to get onto the cold platform.**

**The platform was even busier. I squeezed through the crowds, following Snow and the others.**

"**First years over here!" a man was shouting. He looked to be young, late twenties, early thirties, with brown hair and a scar on his nose. All the first years fought to get to him, and when we were all assembled, he led us away from everyone else, down a different path to Hogwarts. The path was muddy and slippy. Twice I slipped, and twice Snow caught me, laughing.**

**Finally, we reached a little shore, were about twenty or so boats were sat.**

"**Four to a boat!" the man yelled, and we all clambered in. I got into the same boat as Lightning, Serah and Snow, not wanting to get separated. The boats began moving, sailing down the small stream, through the thick trees. We rounded a bend and everyone gasped at once. We could see Hogwarts.**

**The castle stood high and mighty above a cliff, overlooking the lake we were sailing on. Turrets and towers stuck up into the sky, higher than I thought was possible. Hundreds and hundreds of lights dotted the castle, illuminating the lake and us. No one could stop staring as we sailed towards it, and we all moaned when it was lost from sight as we sailed into an underground cave. The boats docked at a stony bank, and we all climbed out. The man led us out of the cave into the Hogwarts grounds. We were led up some stone steps to a wide open oak door that had the Hogwarts crest carved onto it.**

**The man led us across the Entrance Hall to an enormous golden door, where a black haired man with a haughty expression and black robes was waiting. The brown haired one nodded to us, then walked away through a smaller, wooden door into the other room.**

"**Welcome to Hogwarts, First Years," the black haired man said, smiling slightly. For some reason, he looked a little intimidating, someone not to mess with. "I'm Professor Hewley, and I will be your Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher, as well as Head of Gryffindor House. Gryffindor is one of four houses, as most of you should know. The other three houses are Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff, and Slytherin." I thought he said the last house with a bit of a sneer. "You will be sorted now, in the Great Hall, before you take your seats." With that, Professor Hewley turned and pushed the doors to the Great Hall open, beckoning us in.**

**The Great Hall was enormous, twice the size of the Entrance Hall. Hundreds of students were sat inside, on four long tables. All the staff members, including the brown-haired man from before, were sat on one table at the front of the hall, looking down at the pupils. Before them was a stool, on which was a dirty old pointed hat, with frayed edges and multiple patches. The students stared as we walked past heading for the stool. Professor Hewley stopped before it and turned to face us, stood before him.**

"**When I call your name, you will come forth, I put the Sorting Hat onto your head," he lifted the sorting hat for us to see, "And you will be sorted into your house." He drew a list from his pocket and looked to the first name. "Caius Ballad."**

**A purple haired boy squeezed past me to get to the front. He stumbled a little on his way up, and sat down on the rickety stool. Professor Hewley placed the Sorting Hat on his head, and, a few moments or so later, a rip near the brim of the Hat opened wide and screamed:**

"**SLYTHERIN!"**

**The table on the far left erupted into cheers as the boy ran to sit down. They quieted down once he had sat down.**

"**Tina Branford!"**

"**RAVENCLAW!"**

**The table immediately to our left began cheering as the green haired girl went to sit down. I began to feel sick, sick with nerves. I barely noticed the other students going past me, until my name was called out.**

"**Hope Estheim!"**

**I walked forward shakily, my face going pale. I sat down on the stool, and a moment later, the hat was placed on my head, and the hall was blocked from view by it.**

"**Hmm," a little voice in my head said. "Seems you're a bit of a mix, doesn't it?" I realized the hat was the one speaking, something that scared me a little. "Brave, hardworking, intelligent and loyal. Quite the mix. Now, what would suit you best?" I stayed silent, not daring to think. "Where would you like to be put, young one?"**

"**Um, er, Gryffindor, I guess," I thought back to the Hat.**

"**Well, then," the voice said, before a deafening bellow filled the hall:**

"**GRYFFINDOR!"**

**The hat was pulled off of my head as the table on the far right exploded with cheers. I realized, with a jolt, that I was the first new Gryffindor. I took a seat next to a boy who looked to be a few years older than me. He shook hands with me as I sat down, then turned back to the sorting, just as 'Zack Fair' walked up and got sorted into Gryffindor. Zack took his seat beside me, and we watched as Lightning was sorted into Gryffindor, but Serah was sorted into Ravenclaw. Lightning stared at her in dismay. 'Aerith Gainsborough' was then also made a Ravenclaw, but, I wasn't paying attention anymore. I looked up at the staff table, observing at of the teachers. One teacher in particular stood out more than the rest. He looked to be older, and had long silver hair, and an imposing presence, like that of Professor Hewley. I took the silver haired teacher to be the Headmaster, as he sat in the centre of the table on a bigger chair than the other teachers.**

**The teachers were all unique in their own ways. Some of them were quite strange. One of them, a woman, looked extremely strange. Her hair was deep black, and mostly tied back, save for two plats that fell over her shoulders. Her eyes were red and scary, and she had black lips, white skin, and a moggle doll on the table before her.**

**The teacher next to her was a man, with tanned skin and red hair that stuck up. He wore a blue headband around his forehead, and he wore robes that were much more damaged than the other teachers'. Next to him sat two blond haired women, both wearing glasses, both wearing an impassive expression. I would've thought that they were twins.**

"**Snow Villiers!"**

"**GRYFFINDOR!"**

**I joined in with the cheering, and grinned as Snow sat down across from me, squeezed between Lightning and a boy called Noel. There were only a couple more students to be sorted, and when they had been, the Sorting Hat and its stool were taken from the hall, and the headmaster stood. The hall fell silent.**


End file.
